Dr. Ruben grew up in a large extended family of cousins and uncles in Eastern Europe and he immigrated to the US at the age of four. As the eldest cousin, he naturally ended up taking care of all his aunt and uncles kids. As a young child during play, he was often found examining the mouths of the ducks, chickens, cats, and dogs his grandfather owned. It comes to no surprise that he had a natural inclination to choose to become a pediatric dentist. Dr. Ruben obtained his DDS degree from University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry and then completed a General Practice Residency at Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno, which is affiliated with UCSF. Realizing his passion for treating children and special needs patients during that time, he then completed a fellowship in Special Needs at Helen Hayes Hospital in upstate New York, which is affiliated with Columbia University. Afterwards, he completed his specialty residency in pediatric dentistry at The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. He is board certified by the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry. After residency, Dr. Ruben practiced in Texas part time before settling back in Orange County, where he and his wife are from. While not at the office, Dr. Ruben enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter as well as reading on his balcony.
Dr. Kao obtained her DDS degree from New York Universitys College of Dentistry with Honors in Pediatric Dentistry and Special Patient Care. Realizing her passion for treating children and special needs patients, she remained at NYU and its affiliated Bellevue Hospital Center for specialty training in pediatrics. She is board certified by the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry.
Growing up in Taiwan and Vancouver, Canada, Dr. Kao had been constantly on the move. After residency, Dr. Kao practiced in Massachusetts for 4 years before settling back in Orange County, where her husband is from. She is glad to call SoCal home. While not at the office, Dr. Kao enjoys spending time with her twins, building LEGO (she just finished a 7500-piece Millennium Falcon), cooking, exploring fun places in southern California and watching sports. She loves the New England Patriots and Vancouver Canucks and is deciding between Dodgers or Angels.
Dr. Khalaf loves the satisfaction that comes from transforming lives by providing his patients with exceptional dental care. His years of in-depth experience and his kind, professional manner leave patients at ease and create positive experiences about sleep dentistry.
During their time travels, a special crew of sparkly-toothed kids stopped in on the present century to conduct a Smiloscopic examination on dentistry for children. The readout on their Smiloscopes showed great progress compared to earlier periods of time, with kids flashing plenty ofhealthy and happy smiles.
But the team also found that todays smiles could be even better. So, riding on their Strato Hover Boards (SHBs), they arrived at thepediatricdentist officesof FUNtastic Pediatric Dental to get their advice on improving this centurys Smile Rating. Nobody should ever get cavities or toothaches, a FUNtastic Team Member told them. In fact, taking care of your teeth can be lots of fun. So, with proper care and prevention, theres no reason we all cant have great smiles!
With this knowledge, the group went back to their place in time, but only for a short stay. They soon returned to the present day equipped with the most amazing gear, a mission to improve dentistry for children and a name for their toothy teamThe Guardians of the Smile!
The crews information officer and youngest member, Bounce, spreads the word that sucking too long, or too often, on a baby bottle can severely damage the teeth! His duties also include managing the flow of communication between the FUNtastic Team and their patients.
